http://ift.tt/2eJC4l7
These are quick thoughts about an entry in the 2016 Interactive Fiction competition.
The title and blurb promise a philosophical science fiction story. What would the implications on civilisation be if a device existed that could make people worship you and do your bidding? None of those implications are addressed in The God Device. Instead, we're off on a breathless chase movie in which our heroine, a young archaeology student on an alien planet, must keep the eponymous Macguffin away from The Bad Guys. A more suitable title might have been Choose Your Own Male Gaze: the author wastes no time in getting the protagonist into a skimpy top and denim shorts, using her "feminine wiles" to evade capture and coerce NPCs at the drop of a hat. To complete the Mary Sue trifecta, she's also great at fighting! And super-smart! Anyway, who cares about the galaxy-shaking implications of her archaeological discovery, or her imminent death at the hands of murderous hyper-intelligent killers? Let's head to the club and look for some one-night-stand sexy action! Do you want to hook up with a guy, or a girl? Yes, these are actual choices in the game. I may have missed something: I explored several branches, saw multiple endings, and managed to score 10/10 in one, but apparently, like Spinal Tap's amps, this one goes all the way to 11. There genuinely is an actual "God Device" here on Earth: it was a helmet created by Stanley Koren and Michael Persinger to study the effects of religious experience by stimulating the temporal lobes. Many wearers claimed supernatural experiences. There is great scope for some cool speculative fiction here, its a shame this story chooses to go its own, oddly problematic way.
Gamebook blogs
http://ift.tt/2eJC4l7
via Planet Interactive Fiction http://planet-if.com/
October 20, 2016 at 04:12AM
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